Parking Problems in Curchorem Solved

Posted on 2009-05-11
THE Curchorem civic and consumer forum and the Curchorem municipal council have come together to sort out the problem of traffic congestion and to regulate the town’s internal parking problem. After a couple of meetings with police personnel and the consumer forum, a draft plan was prepared and circulated. The plan showed new parking lots, no entry zones etc and mass awareness was created so that the citizens cooperate towards regulating traffic effectively. The citizens in turn have been highly cooperative. This is one of the first achievements of the new Chairman of the Curchorem municipal council, Mr Paresh Bhende and the efforts of all must be lauded.
G SHRINIVAS, Curchorem
Dangers of Drunk Driving
THE editorial ‘Blood on Road’ (NT, May 5) that rash and careless driving cause more accidents than ‘curvature’ or ‘blindness’ of the roads needs appreciation. Drunk, daredevil drivers need to realise that it is not just themselves, but the other users of the road that are in danger too. Alcohol can slow your reflexes and blur your vision, making driving very dangerous. The silent and long run effect of the media in changing the attitudes of the people cannot be denied. A large-scale campaign to educate road users on responsible driving may go a long way in curbing the ‘blood on the road’.
M BHARTIYA, Porvorim
Punishment to Serial Killer
THE alleged serial killings by Mahananda Naik has sent shock waves across the state. It must be said that the ‘dupatta killer’ as Mahananda has been nicknamed, is a Frankenstein that has been created by the state police. Had intensive investigations been carried out in the missing cases of women in the past few years, the alleged serial killer would have been apprehended long back and many deaths could have been avoided. It must be said that the easy way out for the police is to register the case as ‘missing’ or a case of ‘unnatural death’ and close the file. It is necessary to investigate every missing case on the lines of kidnapping and if the body is found as a case of murder. All the women belonged to the lower class with probably no financial assistance and political influence to pursue the case to its logical conclusion. If the victims were of the society’s elite, the news would have been on every news channel and the police would have gone out of the way to solve the mystery. Now the NGOs and the public should pressurise the police to solve the case so the culprit gets the punishment he deserves. From the looks of it, there seem to be even more skeletons in the cupboard.
ADELMO FERNANDES, Vasco
Making Bank Accounts Compulsory
THE Delhi government should be complimented for the innovative scheme of opening zero-balance bank accounts for all Delhi-government school students. This scheme will not only induce a habit of saving at a young age, but will also tend to transform students into disciplined citizens by providing them with practical knowledge of the banking-system. The Union Labour Ministry and the Union Finance Ministry should work out a similar system of paying salaries and other payments above Rs 1000 through compulsory bank accounts for all employees even in the private sector. With internet banking and ATM facilities quite common, employees should have no problem in withdrawing cash from points of their convenience. In case any employee wants to have wages in his/her own bank, he/she may have to inform the employer and get a payee’s account cheque rather than auto-transfer. Employers’ banks can be directed to open zero-balance accounts for all employees of the employer. Apart from many other advantages, the system will effectively do away with transactions involving cash and fake currency, thereby reducing currency-circulation and evasion of income tax.
S C AGRAWAL, Delhi